It took around 2 months since the purchase of my pasta machine for me to actually attempt to make fresh, homemade pasta.

Look at my oodles of noodles. Or something.

I’ve wanted one for years and was really excited about the prospect of making my own pasta yet I was nervous too.

You see, I’m an avid Masterchef (the original UK one, the local SA one and the best one – the Australian version) watcher and contestants are often tasked to make their own pasta. And because I follow these shows so closely, I know it can turn out to be a real disaster. On the flipside, I’m a fairly competent cook and epic kitchen disasters are a rarity for me, though they do happen when my heart’s not in it.

However, I couldn’t just let my pasta machine gather dust so I decided to put my brave hat on and venture into the unknown. I used the really easy recipe that was provided in the leaflet that came with the machine and called on my (tv-based) knowledge of what the dough’s consistency was meant to be like. Not too hard and not too soft – like the bed Goldilocks chooses at the end.

Once the dough was done, I got the cool part. USING THE MACHINE. Oh what fun it was to roll my own pasta do and see it developing into something resembling actual pasta.

I could barely believe my first attempt yielded something edible! And it only took 5 minutes to boil.

Will I be making it again? Absolutely. It doesn’t take that long to make and it tastes so much better and fresher than the stuff we buy at supermarkets. Not knocking that because I’ll still totally buy it for the lazy days.

Here’s picture evidence about my pasta adventure.

What I used:

500g flour
5 eggs

From flour and eggs to actual pasta dough.

How I made it:

After sifting the flours, I mixed that and the eggs together using the dough hook attached to my kitchen machine. I brought the loose dough together on the kitchen surface. You can add a bit of water if you find it too dry. Once you’ve got a nice, smooth dough, cut into manageable portions and begin rolling. Start at the number one setting (go through this around 6 times) before changing the setting to number 2. I went all the way to number 5 for my tagliatelle. Once the dough is the desired thickness, you can use the cutting options.

Pasta in the making.

Try to boil as soon as it’s been rolled. Only takes five minutes.

The sauce: I braised an onion with 2 cloves of garlic and chilli. Added a grated tomato and a teaspoon of tomato paste. I added about half a cup cream and half cup sour cream. Added half packet mixed seafood and cooked until sauce reduced a bit. Then tossed in the boiled pasta. I chopped some parsley and stirred through at the end.

Enjoy!

Above: Lovely fresh pasta
Below: Freshly cooked pasta in a creamy seafood sauce.